Stalemate in Bale negotiations

The saga of Gareth Bale's transfer to Real Madrid continues to drag on with the Sun reporting talks have reached stalemate.

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy and Real president Florentino Perez have met twice in the last two days in Miami but have not been able to thrash out a deal.

The newspaper quotes a Real Madrid source as saying: "Perez has met Levy and they discussed the possible transfer … at length. I can confirm two meetings have taken place but there are several points to be discussed before a deal can be done."

It is said that Levy, who has rejected a £81 million bid, wants players as well as cash but those he has targeted, including former Spurs forward Luka Modric, are unwilling to move to London.

Yesterday Tottenham Hotspur non-executive director Sir Keith Mills signalled the club was resigned to Bale going. "We very much want Bale to stay," Mills told the Evening Standard. "If a player is desperate to leave, it's very difficult to force him to stay. We've seen it in other clubs. Even if he has a contract, you can't force somebody to play for you."